sharuq1

I know we have an oddball section and such but we really don't have a specific invertebrate section for shrimp/snails/crays etc. in the freshie section. Could we get one? Maybe sticky up some info on breeding and types of shrimp etc.?

awww so cute. They grow fast and are real pigs when they are going through a growth spurt. Mine loved to eat silkworms.

I heard there is even a blue variety of crystal now. Never actually seen one except pics though. I also noticed the red comes out much more in my tank when the shrimp are at 25degrees and the substrate is very dark. When it was light or cooler (both rcs and crs) they looked like very light brown and white. What is that and what is it used for?

gobies et al: thanks for the link! Fish Frenzy: I bet you would be just as good at sw as you are with fresh. Salt isn't really as hard as people make it out to be, just when you have been in it long enough to get comfortable you tend to want to get more advanced (so then all the techno and chemical talk, lol). I don't think I will add in the blacks with the reds if they are going to hybridize; that would be bad. If my two red ones die though I will get some blacks (much rather buy from breeders than from stores, better quality animals usually). If anyone is breeding the crystal reds I would love to hear from you. BlackMumba: can you tell us a little more about how you have everything setup so your crystals will breed? Do you do anything special, like special food or RO water or additives?

Good point.

I read somewhere that you shouldn't have the blacks and the reds (crystal) in the same tank because it screws with the genetics. Can anyone confirm this? I just have the one shrimp tank with RCS and CRS. Are there any shrimp I can't put in with these due to genetic issues? I would be interested in your blacks if I can put them with reds without issue let me know f you are successful with the amano, they sound tough.

I'm interested in getting some more crystal red shrimp, and maybe some other types of dwarf shrimp (eg. greens or blues or something), anyone breeding?

new shrimp digs 72g cichlid tank love this guy! sweet blaze on him--2 of his girls are holding and I already have 20-30 fry or so pic doesn't do him justice at all, can't seem to capture the blue, nor the orange on his anal fin (plus my camera sucks) lol, didn't notice that one plant floating off when I took the pics

Awesome, just what I wanted to hear. I'll post pics of the tank in the pics section

Recently I had to completely re-do my 5g shrimp tank do to a ton of pest snails and hair algae that I just could not look at anymore. The gravel for some reason stagnated in that tank. Not sure why but that particular gravel every time I have used it has ended up with sulphur and nasty pockets forming--so this time I just threw it out and put in the laterite/gravel/sand mixture I had left over from a different planted tank that is no longer running. I cleaned out the tank completely, soaked it in vinegar water and let the plants sit in a Cu solution for a while to (hopefully) kill of the snails hiding there that I couldn't pick off manually (there are always ones you just can't see seems like). Anyway, even after rinsing the plants, that tank still has 0.10 Cu in it so is unsuitable for the shrimp for now until I get it out (going to try poly-filter and maybe cuprisorb). There weren't many shrimp so they were put temporarily into a 2.5g with a small piece of wood and java moss. I want to stick them in an 8g I have been working on but the light fixture for it is broken and the java moss is also filled with pest snails and I really want them eradicated for good this time. Will my shrimps (cherries) be able to breed in a relatively dark tank with only sand and drift wood or do I need the java moss? I also have a couple of crystal reds. Doubt they would be breeding, but would it be detrimental at all to lose the moss? I have algae discs I can feed them, is that enough?

What are you going to put in it for media?

Great pics!!

The coral does not generally do anything to mess your water in comparison to fish. Personally I would say you need a skimmer no matter what is in your sw tank, but that is only my opinion and others may have a differing view. If you stocked lightly you could probably get away with a large filter, but you will need to stay vigilant in doing water changes regularly and keep the filter cleaned. The Euroreef is a really nice model and is what I will be running on my 120g, and I have also heard good things about the ASM skimmers. Octopus is a relatively newer skimmer you can also consider which is not in the super high $$$ range (unlike the mini bubbleking which while said to do a great job is very pricey). You can choose the regular model or go more pricey with a recirculating skimmer. Recirculating ones just basically do a better job due to increased time with the bubbles to get coated with crud (I think...) but are a lot more expensive and in some case can be just plain overkill. The Euroreef RS180 should do a good job on that tank. (note: i saw one fs in canreef from saskatoon) If you are planning on stocking quite heavily you may want to overskim to compensate and go with a more uber model. I am unsure which skimmer would fit in your sump, but you can find measurements on the respective sites of the manufacturers. If you want a particular larger skimmer that won't fit another option would be to plumb a line into and out of the skimmer and just put the skimmer somewhere else (on the floor, beside the tank, wherever).

You can kill them off with copper. There is a solution called "had a snail" you can buy, or you can use any fish medication based on copper (aquarisol). Unfortunately if you have shrimp in your tank or would want to have them or the larger non-pest snails, the copper in the tank would kill them as well. Loaches enjoy eating snails. Particuarly yo-yo loaches and I think clown loaches as well. These need to be kept in groups. Puffers can also be used to kill snails (like the "pea puffers"), but may not be a compatible solution as they will nip at the angel. Kuhli loaches may also work but I am not entirely certain. These are very cute loaches and not mean. Not to hijack your thread, but I have the same problem in my shrimp tank. Perhaps someone would be kind enough to suggest how to eradicate them in that situation?

Welcome here

Thanks! I chopped it up and siliconed it in

I have one of those "exo-terra" backgrounds one is supposed to use in a reptile tank. Can it safely be used in my (for fish) aquarium or do I need to seal it with something first? Also, what can I use to safely paint the edges so I don't see the white foam when I cut it to fit the tank?

I saw someone use tiles in a reef tank, so I don't see why you couldn't.

Lookin good!!

I think it all depends on what you want out of the skimmer. Some believe that wet skimming will pull out more junk in a shorter period of time. I have also heard that too much wet skimming could possibly take minerals out of your system but not seen any facts to substantiate that. Dry skimming tends to pull out much darker crud, but takes a longer time for it to accumulate in your cup. There are positives for either way. I usually wet skim, but if I am going to be away I turn the skimmer to dry skim so there is less chance of an overflow (I have no sump so I am cautious). If you take this question over to canreef you are bound to get more opinions from some much more experienced reefers than me.

Sounds like it may be a red-tipped HC. I have several of them in my system and I have found them to be alot more aggressive than the tri-color ones. I will often find one of the red-tipped trying furiously to get one of the tris out of it's shell--despite the shell being much smaller than the attacking crab. Many people I spoke to said they have had mixed experiences with HC's, some don't seem to cause trouble and some can be real "you-know-what's". If you have a sump you could throw in any "offenders".

Looks fantastic! I love the purple cap. Glad to see you got your "runaway tri-color" back What kind of lighting are you running?

Bumblebee shrimp Pom-pom crab, complete with pom-poms

Welcome to the forums

You don't need an anemone to have a clown and you don't need a clown to have an anemone. You don't need coral to have an anemone either. You should have LR as it is great biofiltration and gives the nem somewhere to attach. If you do want to keep an anemone or coral what you need are good lights. www.canreef.com has lots of info. in it's library that can help you to research the requirements needed to keep anemones/corals/sw fish.